mountains of gold and valleys of shadow
by ladyrebelia
Summary: draco decides to continue with school after the war, & so does hermione. they are head boy and girl.something's bound to happen. i will include a few twists to make it interesting. this is my first story so be xtra harsh, i want to know if im good or not.
1. Chapter 1

draco's p.o.v

I gazed out of the window at the silver crescent moon surrounded by a thousand crystal stars. Everything seemed so surreal in the shadows cast at night. In the dark, a lurking shadow could be anything, and something innocent and harmless like a small animal or a tree could look terribly menacing at first glance. Anything or anyone could be hidden or disguised by the dark to the point of being unrecognizable to any eye; I included. My thoughts may seem dismal and depressing to another, but to me they are nothing except cold, harsh reality. Years ago, I had to make a choice. However, it wasn't the right decision. Fearing rejection of any kind, I chose to cast away society before it could have a chance to turn me away. I chose to hide in the protection of the shadows so that no one could see me, the real me. They would only see the illusion created by the night. Now, I regret that I chose to follow in the steps of the darkness, not because it wasn't the prevailing side, but because of where it led me. On the outside, it seems my heart is empty and my soul devoid of feeling, and I now bitterly curse the name I was once so proud to uphold: Malfoy.

The sight of Hogwarts was a welcome one. Regardless of how I had been treated by my peers throughout the years, it still felt like a true home, unlike the Manor. I had just changed into my school robes on the train when a young Ravenclaw came up to my compartment.

"Yes?" I looked at her expectantly.

"They need you in the Heads' compartment immediately. You're to tend with the new prefects," she said haughtily. Someone definitely had an attitude, didn't they? Well, two could play at that game.

"Too bad I don't have enough time to deal with bratty little upstarts like you. Tell them I'll be there shortly." That took care of the smirk on her face. Yes, it was more than just harsh, but I couldn't care less if her feelings got injured. However, I really wanted to see who got Head Girl this year.

There hadn't been many candidates for the position in my opinion, except for one: Hermione Granger. My heart skipped a beat at the thought of sharing an entire wing of the castle with her for a whole school year. She was intelligent, funny, beautiful, and she had an air about her that suggested she could be a wild one when she wanted to be. She was completely out of my league for one very simple reason and one very un-doable reason. First, I am in Slytherin whereas she is in Gryffindor. Second, I have relentlessly tormented her and her two best friends from day one for no other reason than prejudice and spite. Therefore, how could she ever return any sort of affection for a pathetic bully like I had been? Had been. Since the end of the war, no…..more like since I had realized what being evil truly meant sometime in fifth or sixth year, I had begun to change. I saw things in a whole different perspective that made me change my mind about some very deeply rooted beliefs.

As I entered the compartment, I looked around to see who all was where. I was right, Hermione did get Head Girl. Just then, her honey colored eyes met mine with a piercing gaze that had me frozen where I stood. This was going to be a highly interesting year.

hermione's p.o.v.

It was going to be completely odd to go back to school as if nothing had ever happened, as if a number of my classmates weren't lying cold in their graves beside friends and family. But there was no way in Hades I was not going to complete my education. After all, who else would be Head Girl after such a tragedy linked with the last one? I'm not even going to begin to explain that one; there were just too many rumors to be able to sort out the fact from the fiction, but no matter what went down, it was still bloody awful.

I walked into the Heads' compartment on the last car of the train. We were about 30 minutes from Hogwarts, having just caught a glimpse of it as we rounded a bend in the river feeding into the Black Lake. I sat down waiting for the rest to arrive for the traditional 'get-to-know-each-other' meeting. One by one, they all filed in, except for the Head Boy. I didn't have a clue who held the title and was quite curious to see who I would be sharing a wing of the castle with for the next 10 months. A few moments later, a tall boy with shining, platinum hair opened the compartment door. My heart sank and then skipped a few beats as in stepped, guess who? Malfoy.

For a moment that felt like forever, our gazes met. I nearly stopped breathing as I stared into the bottomless pools of crystal in his eyes. Yet, there seemed to be a slow burning fire behind the fragile seeming crystal that made it appear as if his eyes were two bright stars someone had plucked out of the sky. His skin was that same pale ivory, making him look like he bathed in bleach. However, there were bruise-colored bags under his eyes that gave him a haunted look.

_If I had to go through what he did, do what he did, I doubt I would look much different._

At that thought, my skin crawled. I didn't even want to imagine everything he had done or gone through. I had seen enough tragedy to last a few hundred lifetimes.

I turned my attention back to the meeting at hand, collecting my façade and storing my thoughts in the back of my mind to be reviewed at a more convenient time. No matter how hard I tried, though, I couldn't calm the pandemonium of feelings that surged up within me, like a raging wildfire.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione's p.o.v.

After scrambling around and helping first years find Hagrid, I thought I had felt a bit overwhelmed by all the chaos. That is until I walked into the school after a blissfully peaceful carriage ride to the gates.

I knew there were a few thousand students that attended Hogwarts, but I never noticed just how big a few thousand could seem when you were in charge of keeping up with them. If I hadn't known the number of students, I would have sworn up and down that there were a million! I could tell Malfoy was having an even harder time of it after being so unsocial for so long. With that thought, I suddenly remembered our interesting little greeting on the train a while ago. My mind began to drift as I subconsciously brought back all the little details that hadn't registered at first, like how everyone had a curious look on their faces when they noticed we weren't going for our wands and trying to kill each other. Honestly, I wondered about that, too, especially because my instincts had become much sharper and more defensive since I had spent so many months on the run from a murderous, raving lunatic. Lately, I had been the first to draw out my wand when, under normal circumstances, I would've been the peace maker in the argument. But I didn't even feel threatened by my long term enemy, I felt…I don't even know! I remember my heart beginning to race when my eyes met his… that could mean I was scared, angry, nervous, excited, shocked, or it could even mean I felt desire. I stopped thinking right there.

_This isn't the place or the time_, I thought to myself.

I chanced a look in Malfoy's direction. Of course, he wasn't ugly, in fact, he was really hot. I didn't realize my look had turned into a stare until he looked up, obviously feeling my gaze on him. Oops. I was going to have to kick myself for that when I got the chance. Now that I had had those thoughts about him, they would plague me forever. Great.

Finally, we were dismissed so we could join our houses for the feast. I quickly found Harry and Ron, thanks to the famous flaming red Weasley hair.

"Hey, 'Mione. Where've you been?" asked Ron as soon as I sat down.

"Outback, snogging Neville. How about you?" A little sarcasm was always the antidote, and, strangely enough, it was also the problem.

"Well, sounds like somebody are a bit pissed," Harry added in. Great, now they want to talk about it.

"You know, if you really want to talk about girl problems…" I started off with.

"I wonder what classes we've got together this year," Ron quickly interrupted my sentence. I pretended to look a little miffed, but I was actually thankful that subjects like that were so awkward.

_That should postpone a conversation not needed._

I could here it now:

Harry: What's up, 'Mione?

Me: Oh, nothing much. I've just discovered that I think Malfoy is a sex god.

Harry: Well, that's great to know! As a matter of fact did you know I'm planning to dump Ginny for Ron? I hope to see you at our wedding.

Yeah, that _definitely_ seemed likely. ;)

"Hello? Are you still with us, Hermione?" Ron was waving his hand in front of my face and Harry had a look of concern on his face.

"Yes, I was just thinking of some of my new duties that have to be fulfilled. I have to give detentions and manage prefects and their schedules. There's a lot more, too, so I'm going to be busy." I sighed, as if they would actually get what it meant to be head Girl and share a common room and private quarters with your nemesis of seven years, who is extremely hot.

"Oh, okay. Let us know when you might enjoy the company of mere mortals again," Harry grinned. I had to smile. Sarcasm could be so fun sometimes.

After that, the feast carried on. Malfoy and I didn't get to go to bed until McGonagall was done lecturing us about our duties and responsibilities and how she expected the two of us to get along without help. By the time I got to lay my head on a pillow, I was out like a light. I dreamt of crystal waters under a sapphire sky.

Draco's p.o.v.

Being around so many people was pure hell to me. I don't even want to discuss how traumatic it was to be around so many obnoxious little second and third years. Granger was obviously having a better time of it, but she was way more social than I would ever want to be.

After standing in the door and doing role call and helping out various students with different problems that I could care less about, McGonagall finally let us join the feast. By that time, I was extremely ravenous and my stomach growled at the thought of food. I nearly ran to sit with Blaise and Goyle. Pansy was just a few seats down, which was very awkward considering what happened between us last year. I had gotten tired of her always hanging all over me. She had been really cool to be around when we were younger, but then her hormones kicked in and she turned into a whore that nobody would want to be associated with. I had stuck with her anyways until she became too much of one. And that was as sappy as it got.

"So how was your summer, Draco?" Blaise started the conversation in any and every situation because he wanted to manipulate it however he wanted it. Especially since there were so many topics he avoided.

From there forward it was smooth sailing. When I finally got to my new private dormitory, my head hit the pillow and I was already asleep. The entire night was filled with strange dreams of a mountain made out of gold.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to all my readers! I really hope you like it. Thanks especially to Lady Vonne for reviewing. It was great advice.

The rest of you, please **read and review**. Any kind of critique would be welcomed.

I don't own the anything except the plot. Sadly, it's J.K. Rowling who owns it all. **sigh**

Draco's p.o.v.

For weeks now I had been having really strange dreams. It was starting to take its toll on my sleep and health. Usually, I wouldn't remember but a few of my dreams when I awoke, but now I could recall every single one with absolute clarity. They were all filled with riddles and odd advice. My gut told me to listen to these pieces of advice no matter how strange they might seem.

I got out of bed on the crisp morning of October 16th. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first until I stepped out of my private chambers and into the common room I shared with Granger. That's where I found her sprawled out on the sofa with a book in her hands. I tried to make out the title but quickly gave up since it was in ancient runes, the one class besides Muggle Studies that I had never bothered to take. Her hair fell across the arm of the sofa like a brunette waterfall of curls. She looked at peace with the world and completely different than her know-it-all demeanor would allow.

_So this is what she's like when she has her guard down,_ I mused. I continued to study her as she slumbered on. It probably made me look like a creepy stalker to watch a girl sleep, but there was no harm in what I was doing. I absorbed every detail, from her crumpled school robes to her deep and even breathing. I shouldn't have noticed her breathing because that led me to notice other more distracting things about her.

Before my thoughts could get too out of hand, I looked away. Instead, I gazed out of one of the large windows as sheets of chilly, gray mist rose from the ground. A few birds twittered about. When I turned back around, granger had woken up. It was awkward standing there like that. We just stared at one another for a moment. Her warm amber eyes made me feel as if she were melting me with her gaze alone.

"It's about time you woke up. It's nearly time for breakfast," I muttered.

"Oh, thanks," she mumbled thickly as she stretched and yawned. She set her book down on a nearby table.

"Anytime," I said. Again, this was starting to get very awkward. I have no idea why I did what I decided to do next.

"I'm sorry I'm such a lousy person to be roommates with. I'm not used to company, so I tend to act distant. Would you forgive me for being so rude?" I guess I really wanted to break down those walls of hers.

The look on her face was absolutely astounded. It was indeed priceless, but I wasn't going to laugh. Sort of.

"Well you don't have to look so shocked about it. Death eaters learn their manners, too," I said with a look of mock hurt.

She got a strange look on her face before she started laughing. It sounded like peals of wind chimes in the breeze and I loved it.

After that, the conversation picked up easily enough. We ended up going down to breakfast together, talking the whole way. She was beginning to loosen up a bit. By mid -afternoon, I had discovered many things about her. For example, she was not only very intelligent, but highly intuitive and would ponder many things I would never give a second thought to. She remembered every detail about anything without seeming to have any trouble. Granger really could be astounding if you gave her the chance.

We sat outside on a bench next to a small grove of beech trees beside the lake. We had started up a little competition to see who could skip rocks best. Obviously, I was the champion. To a stranger, it might seem like we were a couple, which was extremely ironic since we had hated each other for years up until this morning. It showed me just how much I had been missing out on when my eyes were blinded with prejudice. Now that the taint had been removed from my vision, I could really enjoy the world. I would have to thank her one day soon.


End file.
